Kal-El
from Krypton - The real name of Superman, "a strange
visitor from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond
those of mortal men" who lives incognito as a mild-mannered
reporter named Clark Kent on the sci-fi series ADVENTURES OF
SUPERMAN/SYN/1952-58.

Superman from the 1930s to the present

Superman Comics
(Debuted in 1938)

Kirk Alyn
"Superman Serials" (1940s)

George Reeves "Adventures of
Superman" (1952)

Christopher Reeve "Superman"
(1978)

John Haymes
Newton "Superboy" (1988)

Dean Cain
"Lois & Clark" (1993)

Tom Welling
"Smallville" (2001)

Kal-El's background story goes as follows: Rocketed to Earth as an
infant, when the planet Krypton exploded, Kal-el landed on the
planet Earth near Smallville, USA, where he was adopted and raised
by John and Martha Kent (also given as Eben and Sarah), a childless farm couple.

Kal-el soon discovered he was superhuman, possessing the
ability to fly, see through objects with his X-ray vision (with
the exception of lead), hear and see things from tremendous
distances, bend steel in his bare hands and retain enormous bits
of information via his super memory.

His only weakness was the radioactive-charged substance known
as Kryptonite, fragments from the explosion of his home planet.
Prolonged exposure to this greenish element, would cause weakness,
unconsciousness and possibly the death of Superman.

As an adult, Kal-el moved to the city of Metropolis, USA and
assumed the identity of Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter
working for the Daily Planet, a great metropolitan newspaper. His
fellow workers included female reporter, Lois Lane, Cub-reporter Jimmy Olson and
Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Perry White.

Opening Narration from the 1950s Series

Narrator:

Superman! Faster than a speeding bullet.

[Film
clip of a gun shooting]

Narrator:

More
powerful than a locomotive!

[Film
clip of a speeding locomotive]

Narrator:

Able
to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

[Camera pans up the side of a building].

Male voice:

Look
up in the sky!

Male voice:

It's a
bird!

Female voice:

It's a
plane!

Male voice:

It's
SUPERMAN!

Narrator:

Yes,
it's SUPERMAN!...strange visitor from another
planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far
beyond those of mortal men. SUPERMAN! who can
change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his
bare hands. And who, disguised as Clark Kent,
mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan
newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for Truth,
Justice, and the American way! And now, another exciting
episode in THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN.

[Program closing]

Narrator:

Don't
miss the next thrill-packed episode in the ADVENTURES
OF SUPERMAN.

For some strange reason, a pair of dark-rimmed glasses offered an
effective disguise from his true identity when he was not out
fighting "a never ending battle for Truth, Justice and the
American way."

Clark's alter ego of Superman wore a blue body stocking, with red
boots and trunks, and a yellow belt with gold buckle circled his
powerful physique. On his chest and his red cape was a scarlet "S"
emblazoned on a shield of yellow.

Clark's Earth mother had fashioned him this costume from the
fabric found in his crashed rocket. It was acid, fire and
bullet-proof (I guess she got her son Clark to use his super laser
vision to cut the pattern).

A telephone booth was a favorite place for Superman to change into
his costume in the comics and on radio. However, on television the
man from Krypton chose a storeroom in the Daily Planet newspaper
building down the hall from his typewriter and when that wasn't
available an empty alley would do.

In the 1950s series, Superman kept his costume at his apartment
(5-H) at the Standish Arms Hotel in Metropolis. His costume was
hidden in a secret compartment at the back of his bedroom closet.
(Later Clark moved to 344 Clinton Street). The costume on the
1950s B/W episodes was actually brown & light gray to allow for
better contrast when shooting scenes.